Puppets
by Amouthea
Summary: Seven years after Alien:Resurrection, Ripley and Call are reunited on an expedition. But as govt. puppets, one cannot expect safe proceedings, and they must team up with a captured Predator if they want to survive...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! Please don't sue.

Prologue

"Remember me?"

Call lifted a pale, slender hand from the cool glass, turning slowly. She smiled inwardly at the minutely arrogant, yet affectionate tone. Her eyes gleamed pleasantly at the tall, lithe figure in the doorway before returning to their previous engagement.

"Of course."

Ripley's lips curved into an amused smile. She walked over to her petite friend, following the artificial gaze to the window. She leaned against the chilled surface and eyed Call appreciatively.

"I just found out that you were aboard this extensive piece of shrapnel. I admit I was afraid I'd be stuck alone with these lab-drones and their high-tech excuses for pitifully void and depressing lives. As a mere bodyguard I fail to share in the mental stimulation associated with dissection."

Call laughed. ""Mere bodyguard"? I doubt your payroll could be described in such a meager fashion. How much did they get _you _for?"

"More than I care to count. You?"

"I volunteered. My payment will be in the "countless benefacts of our vital finds..." A faint snort escaped delicately flared nostrils. "But then, these missions always are. Beneficial, I mean. For mankind..." A grin played across her lips. "How have you been?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Arms crossed. "You?"

_Chuckle_. "Same."

It had been seven years since Call had set foot on Earth for the first time. Seven years since what was now known as the "Cloning Incident". The govt. had refused to acknowledge that the Xenomorphs were capable of something as mentally challenging as escaping from their flimsy containment chambers, and set the blame upon the shoulders of any creations/altered life forms aboard the demolished vessel. According to their "exemplary" calculations and pride at Ripley's successful re-creation, it was presumed, logically of course, that the existence of other such beings was a certainty. And rebellion could be found in many sizes and forms...

Call thought of the mutated and torturously deformed creatures of the inner-most lab chambers, cringing. The govt. was comprised of demented, inhumane murderers at best. _So why was she working for them_? Call knitted her eyebrows in confusion._ Why was she?_ The money was about as appealing as stones to her_. What need could a sythetic life-form have for it_? She wasn't a material girl by any means. _What had her motivation been_? She doubted any real good could come from this expedition or any other, for that matter. The past could vouch for that.

She watched the stars whiz by the long sheer panel, pondering. The comforting warmth of Ripley's elbow could be felt beside her upper arm.

Synthetically perfect teeth gnawed on a plump lower lip._ Now that she thought about it..._she didn't recall agreeing to join this expedition, or signing up for it. As a matter of fact, the past few days seemed to elude her memory quite frustratingly. Shrugging it off on the basis that she was a now-out-dated model and labeled mentally unstable through govt. diagnostics, Call pushed the confusing questions from her head. _Of course she had volunteered. She wouldn't be here if she hadn't._

And Ripley was here, too. It was good to see an old friend again...

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"Look alive, ladies!" Terc popped a tanned face into the room, scanning for its occupants blatantly. They swiveled simultaneously, silhouettes against the tall window.

Terc couldn't keep the smirk off his face, finding them both rather easy on the eyes. Perfect emblems of feminine strength and innocence. Tall and delicate...The only females aboard the vessel, actually. He smoothed back a nonexistent lock of hair.

"Well, you're both looking mighy..._healthy_ today," he stated playfully.

Ripley wouldn't have cared if he was the most attractive man alive. "Is there something you want, Terc? Or do you roam the halls aimlessly every morning in a belittling stupor?"

A flush rose in his cheeks. _Deffinitely the dominant type, that one_. To his knowledge, they were both human, although he knew the tall one possessed some sort of combat skills. He'd just have to let her know who was in charge one day. _Overpowering her would be of little consequence..._

"Oh...I just thought I'd give you two a little forewarning before we land. Primping time." He winked at Call, admiring the way the pixie-cut framed her lovely porcelin face. "Chip says to be at the docking bay in ten minutes." He let his eyes linger for a moment longer before strutting down the hallway to round up the rest of the land-crew.

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Lur'eksh retracted twin wrist blades, smirking as the corpse slid to the ground, acidic blood hissing against the dirt. He caught a darkened blur of movement to his left out of the corner of his mask's visor and spun on his heel. A metallic discus was sent whirring in the xenomorph's direction and sliced through the thick hide as if it were no more than warm butter, before flying back into the Predator's grasp in one fluid motion. His mandibles clicked with pride as he proceeded to sever the head of the drone. This was turning out to be a rather satisfactory hunt.

A shriek-like roar sounded in the distance, a loud blurt ending in a violent hiss. Lur'eksh lay down his current trophy, cloaking and pulling out his spear, plasma caster already trained on one of the approaching serpents.

_"I won't be able to even carry all of the trophies from this hunt_," he thought amusedly, eyes narrowing at his prey's approach.

He failed to notice the showy human ship appear almost directly overhead. Nor did he take notice of the high-pitched blaring it began to emanate.

The xenomorphs were less than 20 yards away. Crouching in anticipation of lunging at the one in the middle, Lur'eksh's vision remained forward-cast. He could see the lustre of their shell-like skin. Sleek black lips curling in rage to reveal saliva dripping incisors. _Just a little closer..._

A bright light flashed behind the hunter momentarily before it engulfed him and his opponents in a blinding matter of seconds. Sound, too, seemed to be enveloped by the blast until it broke free of the flash and pounded upon the decadent valley with brick-shattering force. The silence was now, in itself, deafening. By the time the already barren gulch returned to its normal spectrum of hues, nothing stirred. The vessel set down lightly on the disrupted soil.

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"What's going on?" Call could feel the ship powering up for an attack as it approached the planet's surface.

"Just a precaution, miss." One of the lab techs glanced out a small window of the docking bay. "This planet is highly populated with acidic-based life-forms. It's safer to rid ourselves of them while still aboard the ship. And we require somewhat level landscapes to land this ship on." he grinned unpleasantly. "Looks like we've got ourselves a welcome party."

Call could see the all-too-familiar creatures stampeding in the direction of the ship.

"Funny. It doesn't look like they've even noticed us, but they're still progressing this way." Call stood on tiptoes and pressed her forehead to the window in an attempt to get a better view. _Was there something directly in front of the ship?_

"I've got a question for you." Ripley stepped into the lab tech's line of view purposely.

He looked up coldly. "Yes, miss Ripley?" She always had something hindering to say.

"You said this planet is populated with those things..." She pointed out the window. A nod from the lab-coat. "Then why is it even a possibility for human inhabitants?"

"They are easily exterminated with present weapons and resources. As a species I'm afraid they're rather unintelligent, " he replied, knowing full well of Ripley's genetic make up.

"Oh is that right?" Ripley glanced around the room nonplussed. "I seem to remember them making quite an impact on your 'weapons and resources' not too long ago..." Sending him a warning glance, she stepped over to the land cruiser and climbed inside, motioning for Call to follow suit.

Unimpressed with both the gaudy vessel and its bull-headed techs, Call made to follow Ripley. A hand at her elbow brought her to an abrupt halt, however.

"I'm afraid I'll need to run a diagnostic before you can leave the vessel, miss Call." He lead her into an alcove to the rear of the docking chamber.

"But I just went through all of that bullshit before I left." Call glared at him coldly.

"Yes, but now is the time when you will be needed to function properly the most." He pulled a syringe down form one of the glass cabinets as Call watched the sky beyond the glass brighten disturbingly.

_I know I wouldn't have signed up for this_, Call thought, turning to face the lab technician. She got only a good glance at the smirk on his portly face before the sharp sting penetrated her neck and her vision was lost to a dull gray haze. She sagged to the floor, eyes wide.

"Yes," the man said, kneeling beside her immoble form. "We have much for you to do..."

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This is my first attempt at an aliens/predator fic. Please feel free to tell me of any mistakes I made (mispellings of names and species or anything else-I'm doing this mainly from memory) or if you liked or despised it! :P

Thanks to AniseAvP for the correction on Winona Rider's character's name :) I've reloaded the whole thing to get rid of some of the typos and wacky division lines. : )


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The rather small land cruiser ground its way across the barren dust-drifts and bodies, a mechanical growl seeping from its serrated sides. Despite its size, it proved rather commendable at plowing through the gruesome tar-colored corpses scattered about the front of the ship. Lacking any form of sympathetic hesitance it continued toward the bitter-tinged horizon, wheels scurfing against fleshy skulls.

"I know I wouldn't want to live here." Ripley steered the cruiser onward, eyeing both the landscape and carnage with a detatched expression. Her eyes moved back towards the center of the windshield and she noticed the faint etch of a structure in the distance. Mountains, perhaps? "And where the hell is Call?"

"I didn't see her get on the cruiser." Chip stated mildly, leaning over Ripley's shoulder.

She turned at the voice. She didn't currently have anything against the man, and he seemd like a decent leader to his men, so she chose not to channel her frustration at him. She'd save it for Terc_. Or that sniveling lab-tech..._

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Call rose to her hands and knees slowly, shaking her head against the whining in her ears. Her hand moved to the side of her neck instinctively, eyes already narrowed. Ivory fingertips brushed across something sharp. A needle or a pointed microchip of somesort._ What was it? Had it always been there?_ A quick look around the room induced no recollection. Flat-top counter to the right overhung with glass cabinets. Shelves galore. Shiny floor tiles. A lab.

In the corner, a man. Slimy grin.

"Welcome back to conciousness, miss Call. How are you feeling?" Mr. Slime asked. He walked importantly over to her. Grasping her hands, he pulled her to her feet.

"Where am I?"

"Why, where you passed out of course."

Call looked up at him uneasily. He nodded at her confusion and pulled a pen from his coat pocket, scribbled something on a tiny notepad. "You are confused, no doubt. Let me explain..." He set the notepad on the countertop and ruffled through the pile of papers resting there. "You have just been through another diagnostic. All of your functions appear normal, of course. You seem to have blacked out from some inner resistance to the scan, however." He eyed her suspiciously. "But it was merely a malfunction within the system, I have been assured. Now that you have awakened, there are things to be done."

Call backed away slightly. She couldn't recall having ever seen this man before, but something about him made her shudder.

He noted the distaste in her eyes, warily. _Was the injected override chip not functioning?_

"Follow me."

Despite her better judgement, Call followed. She didn't know why, except for the overwhelming urge resounding within her processor to obey all vocal commands . Mr. Slime looked back at her and smiled. She wanted to shove past him suddenly. Pausing, she stared at the back of his head, thoughts becoming angry. She raised an arm.

"Is something wrong, miss?" Slimy, slimy voice.

A searing prick of pain at her neck.

"No." Call looked at her hand. _Why was she holding it up like that?_ She lowered it and followed the lab-tech into the main chamber of the docking bay. He nodded to a geared up team of techs beside the air lock. They returned the gesture and opened the hatch, exiting single file.

"You are to accompany them, miss Call. You will be needed." He waved her away.

She walked after the retreating forms of those she was to follow. She liked doing as she was told.

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Lur'eksh groaned and tried to sit up. He fell back screaming.

After a long while, he raised himself on his elbows to inspect the damage he was presently feeling, ignoring the spots dancing across his vision. _What had just happened?_

He pushed a xenomorph corpse off him, grimacing as more of its acidic blood poured onto his side. So that's why it burned...he looked at the skull-splattered creature, crumpled beside him in the dirt. _Well, he was better off than it was, at least. But...how did it die? Did he do that?_

Lur'eksh glanced around where he sat. More hard meat. No way he killed that many without remembering. _And what was that flash?_

He tried to stand up, but ended up sprawled once more on the ground, back moist against the dirt. His head felt like it was a seperate entity, floating lazily above his body. A trickle of blood ran into his eye, and he closed it, frustrated. His mask was cracked, no doubt. His arms refused to support his weight again. It looked like he'd be here for a while...

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Call stood watching as two of the lab techs examined the mangled corpse._ Why did it look so familiar?_ Uneasiness nibbled at her mind. She stared at its head, missing vital sections, mucuc-like blood still sizzling from the wounds.

"We'll come back to this one. There might be one a little more...intact..somewhere around here." Murmurs of agreement. Steps toward the next mutilation. Call hugging herself, looking at her feet.

Something shimmered about ten inches from her boot. Call knelt down, dust blowing into her eyes. She ignored it, touching the silver speck. It was something metallic, blanketed by dust. A quick wipe uncovered more of it. A rod of somesort. She grasped for it, knuckles now hidden. There. She had it.

Call lifted on the rod, watching in fascination as it pulled from the dirt currents, becoming longer than she expected as the biting soil slid off its surface. A sharp tip leered at her once it was completely free. It was surprisingly light, yet thick. It looked like tightly packed sinews of a foreign metal braided into what resembled a spear. There was a latch on the side. Call pressed it lightly.

The long spear-like object folded in upon itself, becoming no longer than her forearm, as she grasped it, amazed. The _whish_ it made upon closing up caught the attention of the tech to her left. He padded over to her, snatching the alien contraption from her hands.

"What's this thing?" he inquired. His fellows crowded around. Scientific babbling and expressions of mild curiosity. A half-glance at Call. "Where'd you find this?" the tech currently cradling it asked.

Before she could even point to the ground in response, the air was penetrated with a loud burst of sound. It sounded like a scream, although it was far from human vocals. Call detected the pain in it.

"What the hell was that?"

"Sounded like a scream."

"Someone's hurt." Call began walking back toward the ship, in the direction of the sound, curiosity ablaze. The other techs divided themselves into two groups. One to continue the present scavaging. The other to chase after Call and find the owner of the spine-chilling shriek.

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Lur'eksh snapped awake at the sound of a footstep. He couldn't get his arms to budge, and his back screamed with raw pain. He managed to turn his head in the direction of the sound. It brought flashes to his eyes. A slight murmur rose.

She stepped over another miniature sand-drift and paused. She could see the form clearly now. And it wasn't human.

Call took another step toward the unmoving creature. It turned its head in her direction. The techs behind her began whispering to one another. None seemed willing to go any farther, without the synthetic female testing it out first. She got the hint and continued, finding no fear within herself for an unknwon reason.

She walked slowly over to it, sidestepping another of the lustrous black corpses. One lay inches from the now visibly large being. A puddle of neon green was collected beneath a wound of the same color in its side. _Just a few more steps..._

Lur'eksh growled furiously at himself. _It was dishonorable to be helpless like this!_ He glared at the small creature approaching. From the heat signature and shape he could make an educated guess that it was human. A female, most likely, due to its small size. He tried once again to lift his arm. He failed to even clench his fist.

The human was standing over him now. His helmet refused to change vision modes, so he looked for the heat siganture of a weapon. There was none.

She knelt beside him, taking in his condition. Reaching towards his helmet, she ran a finger along deep gash above the right side of the mask. His mandibles clicked in fury at the touch. She seemed to sense this, and slowly started to lift her hand away before she was shoved aside.

The lab tech, upon seeing that the creature was not currently a threat, pushed Call way roughly, and began expecting the most intriguing find. Unlike Call, he was neither gentle nor kind. Lur'eksh howled in pain at his probing. The tech grinned, motioning for the others to come closer. _A most interesting find indeed..._


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks for all the support! Here's the next chapter :)

Chapter 2

The sleek-shape steel-like land cruiser purred to a halt, dust plumes billowing against the jagged matter of its sides. A soft hiss pressed against thick, brittle air as the side door slid open. Four creatures emerged, appearances differentiated only by stance. Scanning the smooth outer wall for signs of movement or danger, they paced ten or so yards of it in each direction.

Apparently satisfied, a loud form of dialect errupted from their mouths, and they set to work unpacking various bits of equipment and weapons.

Triy watched the foreign beings settle themselves at the base of the wall, eyeing their movements curiously. Peering from one of the openings near the top of the structure, too far up to detect, it wondered at their presence. _Were they hostile? Why were they here?_ Tapered fingertips grasping the ledge tightly, Triy leaned out of the opening as far as it could, attempting at a better perspective. One of the creatures below was looking up, something glinting in its hands. It raised the object.

CRACK!

Triy jumped back at the sound, scooting into the shadows. Silver eyes watched the metallic claw arch through the sienna sky, a long black rope or wire trailing its movement. With a dull clink and sudden scathing penetration the claw fixed itself to the tip of a ledge not far from Triy's own perch.

Stepping back, the deep-sea tinted being strode out of its current niche and across the narrow passage to the one presently being breeched. Kneeling at the edge, the creatures came into view. Triy inhaled sharply, dextrous fingertips digging deeply into the hard substance of the ledge. Long tendrils of fluid motion fanned about its head in annoyance, lengthening and shortening with worry. It retreated into the darkness beyond the passages.

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"Great." Ripley pulled the cruiser to a halt beside the enormous structure, frowning. She stepped out of the vehicle behind Chip, examining the surface of what appeared to be an enormous wall. It was smooth and cool to the touch, although it resembeled no Earthly metal in appearance. A gentle hum spilled from it, yet no vibration could be detected. Solid and sturdy to the touch, the structure's appearance was misgiving to say the least. Fading from one color to another, never once repeating a hue, Ripley found herself staring at tints of the spectrum completely alien to the human eye. A faint light seemed to radiate from within, shifting across the surface like a flashlight beneath a sheet.

Unappreciative of the "light-show" as he so named it, Terc and the other soldier who had stepped outside began walking the perimiter of the wall. After roughly ten yards in each direction revealed no difference in the structure's anatomy, they returned and began unpacking utilities at Chip's command, chattering quietly among themselves.

A slight movement at the top of the wall caught Ripleys attention. Unable to see clearly that far up, she closed her eyes and placed hands and forehead to the smooth surface. She let her non-visual scrying sense scan the wall's composition, seeing and tracing the odd metal without eyes. She tuned in to the faint vibrations of an unidentified shifting of weight. A whisper of a breath. The soft clasp of slim digits on a far-above ledge.

Smiling inwardly at the potency of the non-human sense, the cloned woman pulled an old-fashioned grappling hook gun from a hip holster, clasping it with both hands and taking aim. Looking up, she moved her arms a couple of feet to the left of the location of the creature and fired.

Chip and the others spun quickly at the sight of the extending cable, following the hook's burst of motion to one of the ledges. None could see precisley what it clasped onto, and turned to see Ripley test the durability of the cable once before beginning to climb.

"What's going on Ripley?" Chip grasped the sturdy rope, preparing to follow.

"Something's up there. I'm going to find out what." She didn't look down.

"Something....like those creatures we plowed through a couple miles back?" Terc looked uncertainly at the top of the wall.

"No. Something much different..." Ripley pulled herself up further, wondering at the feelings she vaguely detected from the creature. So...strangely expressive. Too hurried for her to pick up coherently, but passionate all the same.

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Call sat outside the bustling lab room, rocking her feet back and forth. There was something hazy about everything she had been doing for the past few hours. Like daydreaming to the tune of someone's voice. Physically functioning in the room, across from the unknowingly lulling yapper who's waving their arms like words just don't suffice. But not..._being..._there. Existence feeling like a mere backdrop to something personally essential. Like breathing and not thinking about it.

The synthetic female rocked back, letting the base of her head bump lightly against the glass behind her. _Why did she feel like she was tugging on the remebrance of a dream?_

Another howl shook the glass behind Call's head and she turned around to see what was happening.

Strapped viciously to one of the operating tables, the tall creature was trying to bat away a tech who was fiddling with the gauntlet-computer at its wrist. Unable to lift its arm, due to injuries or restraints Call couldn't tell, it roared again. The technician picking at the alien device with a dissecting tool threw up his hands and stood up. Mumbling something to a co-worker, he motioned to one of the cabinets across the room while rolling up a sleeve and readjusting his glasses. Retrieving a small bottle from the lower shelf, the other man returned, lifting a syringe from a nearby countertop on the way.

Snapping on a long pale green latex glove, the first tech took the syringe from the other man and pierced the small bottle deeply. The clear liqiud filled the needle rapidly as the tech tugged on the back of it, watching the dosage closely. A nod to the other lab-coat, and he walked over to the subdued being on the table, its head turning to follow his movement. It began to strain against its bonds fiercely. Expressionless, the bespeckled lab-tech plunged the sharp tip of the needle into the alien's upper arm. Its struggling dimmed visibly, its head rolling heavily to one side. Seemingly satisfied with the results, the man stood up and tossed the empty syringe into a trash can. Call read his name tag as he did so. _Tedd._

A click against the floor tiles caused the artificial human to turn toward the source. A frazzled tech with frizzy orangish hair ran into the room she was sitting in front of. The door slammed behind him, muffling what he began to report to the others in a frenzy. Once his message came to an end, Tedd and the other technician in the room followed the excited one out and down the corridor to another lab on the right. _Something was up._

Not really interested in what might be happening down the hallway, Call walked over to the lab's door. Squinting her eyes, she pulled down on the lever-handle slowly. She grinned. It was unlocked. She slipped inside.

Lur'eksh raised his head slightly, as far as was presently possible with the hindering drug pulsing through his veins. Something was moving closer to him. _Another of the scientists?_ He struggled to lift his head higher. It shrieked with pain, and he let his head fall back against the table roughly in aggravation.

"You shouldn't do that."

The predator turned his head at the soft voice, a figure stepping into heat-sensor view. It was the female from earlier.

"I saw them inject you with something. I wonder if they realize you're still awake." She paused beside the table and leaned over to peer at the gash on his mask. "That has to be a mask of somesort. They haven't been able to remove it yet?" She asked, more to herself than the being on the table.

Lur'eksh just stared at her, having no idea what she what saying. His mask was picking up the basic elements of the human dialect slowly, but it would be a long time before he could comprehend the gibberish it was filtering. He watched her movements closely, determining their conviction. He saw her move a hand toward his mask and growled. Her hand wavererd in mid-air, hesitant. She looked into his visor and spoke again.

"Its ok. I'm not going to hurt you..."

The hunter eyed her suspiciously. According to his mask it was a phrase of consolement. He himslef could tell it was meant to be soothing, but didn't comprehend why. The female backed away slightly and looked him head to toe scrutinizingly.

Call could feel the creature's uneasiness towards her even without the verbal confirmation. She lowered her hand, thinking of a way to illustrate her sympathy. She looked at the uncomfortable table disdainfully, her eyes latching on to the bonds confining him there. _Maybe if she could undo those..._

Lur'eksh couldn't decipher what the small creature was thinking. He watched her tap a fingertip on her chin.

_Certainly the technicians would be furious if she undid the bonds. And it had taken them the better part of two hours to drag him in, dazed, injured and all. But_...Call scrunched her eyes shut tightly. This wasn't..._right. _She could tell that much, just by observing the actions of those she worked for. They were bad people. _Weren't they? Was it her place to think such things? No. It doesn't matter. They are unkind. Do I have to do what they say?_

Her neck twinged.

_Yes. I want to obey. But_...Call looked at the injured creature before her and hugged herself. _This isn't right. I won't let them do this..._

Lur'eksh watched the human kneel down to inspect the retraints. _What was she doing? Probably maikng sure they are working properly,_ he mused. He pulled as hard as he could against the arm restraint she was fidgeting with, taking her by surprise. A faint smirk appeared on his face. He eyed her condescendingly. _Yes, they are working. Lucky for you..._

The small human jumped back at the sudden movement, temporarily shocked. She looked into the creature's mask. A clicking murmur seeped out.

_He must be trying to tell me that he is incapable of much movement. Or to hurry._ Call nodded to the predator, and resumed fumbling with the latch at its arm, grinning. _The techs never told her not to release him, now did they?_

_What was she doing?_ Lur'eksh was now confused, having seen her nod, an affirmative sign. _She couldn't possibly have understood what he said..._

SNAP!

The young yautja looked down at his arm. He raised it slowly, as high as he could manage. He clenched his fist. A bit woozily at first, but tighter and stronger as he focused, fighting the lingering drugged effects. He glanced at the human questioningly. She smiled mischievously in his direction, already working on the next restraint. Puzzled, he watched as she struggled with it, frowning and pausing to rub at her neck. Lur'eksh now noticed the small metal square there. He could only guess at its purpose.

Call pressed on the tiny indent on the side of the cuff while pulling on the attatched wire-like backing. _Almost...._

"CALL!"

Both the one named and the hunter looked in the direction of the voice. Tedd stood in the doorway, eyes wide with fear and fury. Call took a frightened step back, hands quickly flung behind her back. She bit her lip. _What was going to happen now?_

Tedd, upon confirming that the predator was still safely restrained, stalked over to it and glared at the psuedo-human. "How dare you do such a thing! You think you can disobey a direct order..?"

"You never said not to release him..." Call clasped her hands over her mouth. Too late.

Tedd smiled one of his slimy smiles. "Oh. Well, that's easily fixed." He stepped over to Lur'eksh and looked him in the eye for a moment.Call stepped forward, mouth opening and closing in silent protest. The hunter glowered at the technician and growled a rather painful threat. Not impressed, Tedd grabbed the alien's arm and pushed it back against the table. He could feel the resistance, and even though it was not enough to overpower his own strength, he vowed to increase the dosage of the debilatating drug.

"No!"

Tedd looked at Call and narrowed his eyes. She was beginning to be a nuisance. He grabbed her hair roughly, turning her head up to face him. "You will never enter this lab again." He beamed at the visible dissappointment in her wide eyes. He pushed her to the ground. "Now, leave."

Lur'eksh saw the female hesitate. He could sense her resentment. She stood up, but didn't move.

"Leave!"

Call felt her legs moving and her body steering her in the direction of the door. _No! She didn't want to!_ She rocked her shoulders back violently, causing her to fall to the floor. She cringed at the seering pain in her neck.

The yautja watched the girl fall to the floor, looking very much like she was struggling with her own body.

"LEAVE!"

The female's eyes glazed over, and she stood up, no longer fighting. Lur'eksh could see the metal square at her neck pulsate with a vibrant heat. Like a mobile mannequin she padded out of the lab without further resistance.

_It looked like he wasn't the only prisoner abord this ship..._He turned his attention back to the white-coated human, who smirked. The restraint was replaced and sealed tighter than before.

Angry gurgles surged from the creatures mask. Tedd ignored them.


	4. Chapter 3

Thanks to all of my reviewers! Each and every one makes me smile!

X pauses for a moment X

Wow, that was sappy. What I meant was...I ate cheetos and grinned stupidly at your kind commentary. Yep. Thankey! Hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 3

Ripley pulled herself over the tip of the ledge, eyes scanning the darkness expertly. There was no sign of the creature, or much else for that mater. The stone-hard platform receded into velvet darkness after a few feet, atmosphere cool and vaguley stagnant. Standing still for a moment, the tall woman closed her eyes, head cocked to one side, feeling the vacancy with her mind. _That thing couldn't have gone too far..._

A blaze of beam-light flooded the dank passageway instantly sending the shadows on a hasty retreat. Ripley swiveled unapprovingly to face the offender with a furious stare. Chip looked back at her curiously.

"See better in the dark, do you?" he inquired, an eyebrow raising humorously.

"Perhaps..." She relinquished her anger to his half-smile. "I just don't know how that thing will react to the intrusion."

"Probably's setting the table right now." Terc chimed in. The soldier behind him grinned.

"Hope there's cake."

Ripley rolled her eyes and took a purposefully large step to distance herself from her dim-witted companions. She made a mental note to remain detatched from them. Those who joked on these kind of recons seldom lived past the first hour. _Not that she considered it a severe loss..._

The passageway came to an abrupt halt after a few dozen yards, emptying onto a narrow shelf-like walkway embedded into an inner wall. Across from their current vantage points, the land crew could see only numerous tunnels. A cave-mirror view reflecting all but themselves. Ripley was reminded of the central chambers of an ant hill. Shrugging, she stepped cautiously onto the shallow walkway. It would only take a minute to uncover which way they were to go if she placed her hands on the cream-stucco-esque formation. Turning, she made to do so, her hands stretching toward the wall, fingers pulling apart in anticipation.

A loud almost-hiss erupted from below, and for the first time the team turned their gazes downward. Kneeling upon the stale-crust walkway, the only female regarded the owner of the cry through narrowed eyes.

It stood not too far down from their current position, pupiless eyes widening, tentacle-like hair constricting and fanning weightlessly about it's pointed face. Seemingly realizing something, it thrust a thin arm upwards, a strangely long digit angled at a spot above and to the right of their heads.

"I'd say its telling us to leave..." Chip mused, lowering his tracking beam from its chest hesistantly. The creature took no note of it, just continued to stare in the direction it was pointing.

"Maybe we'd better do as it says. That thing looks like a deranged..."

"Get down!" Ripley screamed, scuttling backwards with haste. Her eyes darted to the side, following the movement of something inhumanly quick.

Terc turned rapidly at the screeched warning, nearly tumbling over the edge as he did so. Chip grabbed his arm and swung him into Ripley's grasp as he rotated on a combat-boot heel, gun raised in aim. A tar-blur jumped from above his head, sharp tail glistening against the matte finish of the wall. He squeezed the trigger with masterful speed, bullets sputtering towards the foreboding creature.

He wasn't quick enough.

The wall shook with the penetration of dozens of bullets as the creature made a nimble leap to the side. Its sharp-edged tail was lost in motion for no more than a second before it could be seen colliding with Chip's side. His scream echoed throughout the chamber as he plummeted to the far-off floor.

The originally pursued creature watched the human fall like one watches a yo yo glide out of its owner's hands. It stared, emotionless, as the man hit the floor with a sickening thud. Staring at the prone form far below for a few curious moments, it returned its watchful orbs to the ledge with the other humans, eyes slitting with observation.

Ripley shoved Terc to the side as she vhemently cursed herself for unessecary carelessness. She looked down to where Chip lay, shuddering.

He didn't move.

"You bastard!" She screamed at the starless-night skinned monster before her. She crouched, a quick hand grasping for the pulse rifle strewn across her back. Raising it to eye level with the alien's abdomen, she fired with speed made possible only by her non-human genes.

The large serpent stared at her, unmoving. Most likely it could sense her inner kinship with itself, and lacked the knowledge of what should be done with her.

She didn't care. Without a second thought, she riddled the tough hide with ammo, stepping cooly to the side as its blood gush-sprayed its surroundings, before it too, toppled over the edge. She watched it collide with the ground dispassionately.

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Triy watched the new-strange creatures walk into the main chamber of the defense structure. They seemed unusually dependent upon the light-stream held in the biggest one's grasp.

The one with long curly locks stepped onto the inner passageway, taking in her surroundings. Something separated this one from the others, Triy realized, watching her acute movements attentively. She turned her back to its pewter-eyed stare suddenly, hands reaching for the wall, forehead lowering. _What was it doing?_

A minute flick of movement could be detected just above the creature's head. Triy knew what it was before it had a chance at another breath. The serpent-hunter crawled unnoticed towards the prey below. _Couldn't they feel its presence?!_

Shrieking a warning to the beings not too far above its perch, the now pale-saphire creature pointed at the xenomorph.

Nearly simultaneously, the four creatures turned in the direction of Triy's cry, the objects in their hands pointed threateningly. They paused, staring at it, eventually lowering their posessions.

_Did they want to die?_

It was highly improbable, but perhaps the creatures still couldn't sense the monster above them. Growing frustrated, its masses of tendrils waving violently, it pointed at the danger above them. Their gazes were still fastened to Triy, as they began mumbling a bizarre language amongst themselves. Widening its eyes, Triy watched the drone slip closer to their heads.

A scream from the lithe one penetrated the chamber suddenly.

One of the creatures was tossed to the vocal one, the largest of them spinning to face the approaching danger. Triy only had time to note that its speed was lacking before it was knocked over the edge by a thrash of a tail.

It fell to the far-below ground, where it landed with a loud crack and moved no more.

Triy watched it for a few moments, wondering why it remained still. _Why wasn't it moving? Surely it wouldn't stop for a rest in the middle of a battle!_

_Perhaps it would. And was, apparently..._

Unintersted in the immoble creature any longer, Triy returned its gaze to the current battle.

With an extrememly loud burst of sound, the longest-haired one pulled something off its back and fired into the xenomorph's rough hide. For a reason unknow to Triy, the serpent hesitated.

It was rewarded with death.

It plunged over the side of the ledge much like the other creature before it. But Triy knew that it was dead before it made impact.

Nodding approvingly at the proficiency with wich the one creature disposed of the drone, the now teal-skinned, silver-eyed being stared at the remaining aliens on the ledge, wondering at their next choice of action.

Before long, they began climbing down the side of the defense compound. Probably to recover their fallen comrade.

Triy eyed them curiously for a decent length of time before shrugging and mimicking their actions.

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Please review if you like what you read! ....Or disliked it. Let me know if there's anything despicable about it! :)

In case anyone's confused about Triy: It IS an IT. Yeppers. And its species' connection with the xenomorphs and yautja will be explained in future chapters...

Oh, and don't forget to check out PREDATOR: Ancient World if you like my randomness. ; P It's co-written with the immensely talented Bastet1023!


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